Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
I don’t know what to do. My instinct is telling me to go to him, but my barely functioning brain is reminding me that my father is nearby. He won’t approve of this. In fact, he’ll do anything to stop it. I know and dread he will.
I move out of the recess and watch Jake watch me as I back into the orangery, a silent understanding passing between us. I’m preparing my excuses to Dad as I go.
Jake’s need to protect me goes deeper than a well-paid job?
How deep?
Chapter 19
JAKE
I follow as Camille weaves through the crowds, ignoring anyone who tries to stop her for a chat on the way. Her urgency is calming. I’m not at all comfortable with her being here, whether it’s her father’s home or not. It’s still day three. I’m still edgy. And Logan’s intention to pull my protection isn’t easing it.
I had no intention of seizing her and spilling the details of my darkness to her, but as the evening passed, I could see her falling further away from me, and I can’t bear the thought of letting her go. I’ll do anything to keep her in my life. Even if that means laying myself bare to her. Even if it means losing my sanity. It’s too late. I already feel certifiably crazy.
I have nothing to lose. I’ve more or less just thrown myself down for her, despite my better judgment. I’ve been torn apart before at the hands of a woman. I never expected to put myself in that position again. I feel vulnerable and scared. Yet more hopeful than ever before.
Camille Logan can damage me far more than anything else I’ve encountered in my past. She has a stronger hold. She has the ability to destroy me. But she’s my only hope of happiness again, of freeing myself from the clutches of my past.
A sniff of my history is all I’m prepared to give her right now. It’s all I’m capable of, and telling myself that she has enough to deal with at the moment, without my shit, is easy. And a cop out. Part of me is riddled with guilt for letting her step into my darkness without being armed with all the information she needs to decide if she’s making the right decision. But the other part of me is too desperate to cling onto her—I’m not prepared to jeopardize what we have before we really have it. I saw no disgust in her eyes when I told her a part of my story. I saw only sorrow. But there’s the problem. It was only part of my past, and I need to find the strength from somewhere to share the rest. To face that part of my old life. To do the right thing and put it to rest, to finally move on.
Camille wastes no time muscling in on her father’s group, smiling her apologies when she brings the conversation to a halt. Trevor Logan casts his eyes across the room to me, checking my presence and narrowing his eyes briefly before giving his daughter the attention she wants. His look tells me everything I need to know. I’m not the kind of man that he wants for his daughter. I’m not even the kind of man that I want for his daughter. I’m not ignorant of his power and influence. He could destroy me. Have me booted out of the agency. I need to figure out the best way to approach this.
Logan’s minions are hovering across the way, keeping watch on me as he indulges his daughter. His current wife, Chloe, is also lingering close by, but her attention is elsewhere while her husband’s distracted by Camille. I watch closely as Chloe talks to a man. She’s being coy, her eyes constantly flicking to Logan and Camille, wary and watchful. Then the man’s hand comes up and brushes her arm subtly, and she jerks nervously, moving away and shooting him a warning look. It prompts him to check for any attention that might be pointed their way, but he seems to relax when he sees Logan and everyone else in the group are focused on Camille. Shame he missed me. I get my phone from my pocket and tap out a message, taking a discreet picture and attaching it to the e-mail.
I think Logan’s wife is having an affair. Picture attached. Who is he?
I click send and get an immediate reply.
On it. Just found out Trevor Logan funded Sebastian Peters’s rehab. I also checked the kid’s bank statements. 100K landed in his account the day he was admitted. Kind of convenient.
I hold on to my composure. Just.
Logan paid the little fucker off? Yeah, ’cause that clearly worked. The bastard achieved nothing but feeding the lowlife’s drug habit for a year or two. Logan should have just done what I plan on doing: killing him. He doesn’t even know that the prick has hit his daughter. Logan will do anything to keep Sebastian Peters away from his daughter, and on this occasion I’ll give him credit, even if his plan was shit. It also confirms what I should expect when he finds out about me.